Display sign



Patented June 19,1951 :',5

UNITED STATES PATENT-orner DISPLAY SIGN Ben G. Altheimer, Wauwatosa., Wis., assignor to Milprint, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Application July 22, 1946, Serial No. 685,288

The present invention relates generally'to improvements in the art of advertising, and relates more particularly to -improvements in the construction and use of display Signs or the like.

A primary object of my invention is to provide an improved and highly attractive advertising or 'display sign which besides being simple in construction is flexible in its adaptations.

1 claim. (orio-135) Another specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved and exceedingly durable advertising card which may be readily produced by printing and with the Iaid of relatively inexpensive and readily available materials.

Another specic object of this invention is to provide an improved composite sign which may be readily constructed of several layers of material assembled in a manner such as to create a highly aesthetic nal article especially adapted for use in advertising diverse commodities.

VAnother specific object of my invention is to provide an improved combined advertising and bulletin board in which the visible indicia may be readily changed to meet varying conditions, and

'which may be conveniently suspended from a wall f" These and other specic objects and 'advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of the features constituting my present improvement, and of the construction and use of display cards embodying the invention and produced in accordance with the improved method, may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a plan View of a typical display card embodying the invention, portions being broken away to reveal internal structure;

Fig. 2 is a considerably enlarged and somewhat distorted section through the card, taken along the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is asimilarly enlargedy and Somewhat 2k s distorted section through the device, taken along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1. Y Y

While the invention has been shown and described herein as applied to and embodied in a typical merchandise advertising or display card,

'it is not my desire or intention to thereby unnecessarily restrict the scope orutility thereof, since the improved structure is also applicable to signs or cards adapted to be utilized for other purposes.

Referring to the drawing, the typical display card shown therein by way of illustration, comprises in general, a transparent outer sheet 5 formed of any suitable material and having opaque areas 6 applied to the inner surface thereof, a sheet I of preferably highly lustrous material such as foil, shown in the drawing as of brown color, disposed adjacent the inner surface of the transparent sheet 5 and provided with a relatively stiff backing 8 such as cardboard or the like, and a marginal binding tape 9 forming a border for the display card and holding the vari'ous sheets 5, 1 and 8 in assembled condition.

To provide a simple and convenient means for suspending the improved display card from a support such as a Wall' or standard, transverse top fand bottom Strips I0, each having a tacky adhesive layer I2 adapted to be applied to the surface of the wall or other support, are formed on the back of the card; and each of these adhesive strips I0 may be provided with a removable protective covering strip I I for the adhesive layer I2 Awhen not in use.

In the typical display card shown in the drawing, certain of the opaque areas 6 which are `.printed directly on the inner surface of the transparent sheet 5 are provided with omissions forming indicia such as letters, figures or other formations which are obviously transparent so as to visibly reveal the underlying lustrous and colored foil 1. To permit flexibility in use of the improved display sign, the opaque areas 5 may be formed Without the transparent indicia-forming blanks or omissions; and a crayon or colored pencil may be used to print or otherwise insert, as by Writing directly over the outer surface of the transparent sheet 5 within these opaque areas, additional letters, figures or other formations illustrating matter which may be subject to frequent change and which may be readily eradicated by merely wiping or washing the same with a cloth or the like from the face or outer surface of the sheet 5. Since the display sign illustrated may be utilized additionally for advertising purposes, the area I3 may be used for the name 0i 3 the advertiser or such other indicia as may be deemed desirable, and signs embodying the several features of the invention may obviously be provided in various shapes, sizes, colors and arrangements to suit the needs and wishes of the user in any particular instance.

It will be noted that the improved sign may be readily produced by first printing or otherwise applying the opaque areas 6, 6 to the inner surfaces of the outer transparent sheet 5 and thereafter positioning the preferably highly lustrous and uniformly colored sheet 1 adjacent the sheet 5 to cover the inner surface thereof, thereby providing a colorful background for the opaque areas and likewise uniformly coloring the indicia formed by the omissions in the opaque areas 6. As a further step in the method of assembling the sign, the superimposed sheets 5 and 'I may be provided with a suitable backing 8 of relatively stiff material. The sheets 5, 'l and 8 may thereafter be united to form a unitary assemblage by applying the marginal binding tape 9 thereto, and this marginal tape may be colored, if desired, to provide a pleasing contrast with respect to the sheet l, thereby serving as an attractive border for the sign. After the has been thus assembled, one or more strips l provided with a suitable tacky adhesive layer I2 may be secured to the back thereof, and these strips l0 rnay in turn be provided with the protective covering strips Il which may be readily removed when it is desired to secure the sign to a support by means of the adhesive in an obvious manner.

From the foregoing detailed description, it will be apparent that my present invention provides a simple and durable advertising card, display sign or the like, which may be readily assembled in a simple and efficient manner and which is moreover highly flexible in its adaptations. Signs or cards embodying the invention may be economically produced in accordance with the improved method by printing or the like with the aid of relatively inexpensive and readily available materials, and the signs or cards thus produced may be used for diverse purposes. The opaque areas 6 are applied to the inner surface of the transparent outer sheet and are therefore of a permanent nature not affected by frequent wiping or washing, and certain of these areas 5 may be provided with any indicia-forming omissions desired to be made permanent, while the opaque areas 6 may be formed as solid areas without the transparent indicia-forming windows, thereby permitting the insertion or addition by'crayon or pencil of"visible indicia subject to frequent changes to meet varying conditions. As stated hereinabove, signs or cards manufactured in accordance with the invention may be modified 5 5 Number considerably in color, shape, size and arrangement of printed matter to suit the needs and requirements in any particular instance and may consequently be adapted for numerous purposes. The sign may be posted in any desired location, and the provision of the adhesive strips, which may be protectively covered by the removable strips ll when not in use, provides a convenient means for readily applying the sign to any relatively at-surfaced support.

It should be understood that it is not desired or intended to limit this invention to the exact details of construction or to the precise method of assembling or mode of utilizing the improved display sign, herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the appended claim, may occur to persons skilled in the art to which this invention pertains.

I claim:

A flat and relatively rigid display sign comprsngl a thin. Plane transparent Outer Sheet of exible material having uniform thickness throughout ,its area, an opaque Coating applied directly to relatively extensive local Aareas oi the inner plane surface only of said outer sheet, at least some of the interiorly coated areas of said sheet being entirely devoid of said coating to provide indicia-forming transparent portions, a sheet of colored material directly contacting the coating over the entire inner lsurface of said transparent sheet so as to visibly expose the colored sheet through said transparent portions, a relatively Stiff basking. Sheet for said colored sheet, and marginal means for maintaining all of said sheets in superimposed relatively fixed relationship.

BEN G.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Young Sept. 14 1886 Tallant Jan. 3., 1893 Allen Aug. 8, 19,16 Weidner Nov. 1,5, 19,27 Hostick Feb. 4, v1,936 Hanson Feb. 23, ,1937 Clark Sept. 21, 1937 Wing Dec. 7, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain May 23, 1929 Great Britain Feb. 2, 1,933

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